Childbirth education classes have the potential to inform you of your options, ease your anxieties, and instill the belief that your body can indeed give birth. Cara Terreri from Lamaze’s Giving Birth With Confidence blog joins us this week to share her top five tips for choosing the best childbirth eduction class for you!
Lamaze, Bradley, Hypnobabies, Birthing from Within — the choices in childbirth education today are plentiful, and can be overwhelming during a time when you’re already experiencing baby-information-overload. Unlike consulting with Dr. Google, however, the right childbirth education class can help you sort through the multitude of information, alleviate your fears, and make informed choices about your labor and birth. When choosing a childbirth class, consider the following tips:
Start early. You’ll want to take a childbirth class in advance of your birth, but not so far that you forget what you learned! Many women find it helpful to take a class that finishes three or four weeks before their due date. Depending on where you live and the availability of classes, research and book the class early in your pregnancy to ensure you get the class you want — and when you want it.
Brainstorm. Before you do any research on the type of childbirth education class to take, jot down a few notes about your feelings and attitudes toward birth. What does your ideal birth look like? What concerns you most about birth? What do you think might help you most during labor?
Do your research! Visit the Web sites of the childbirth education organizations you’ve heard about. Learn how they approach childbirth education and what their classes entail. Consider how their philosophy aligns with yours or conversely, how they might improve upon your beliefs. A quality childbirth class should cover the following:
- The normal process of labor and birth, and health care practices that support it
- Changes during late pregnancy and the stages of labor
- A wide variety of coping strategies for managing pain in labor
- The importance of labor support
- Movement and positioning during labor and birth
- Medical interventions and their indications, risks and alternatives
- How to communicate with your health care provider
- Developing a birth plan
- Breastfeeding and newborn care
Check for certification. Many people teach childbirth classes; not all are certified to do so. A certified childbirth educator has likely demonstrated knowledge in their respective childbirth education organization by passing an exam and taking continuing education courses. Ask your instructor if she is certified.
Beware of the standard hospital birth class. Most large hospitals offer childbirth classes. Some of these classes are taught by Lamaze-certified educators or other similar certifying childbirth education organizations; some are not. In either case, be wary of the childbirth educator that teaches only hospital birth policies and protocol. A good instructor is an advocate who shares all of the information you need to make truly informed decisions.
For more tips, Lamaze has developed tip sheets that include questions to ask a childbirth educator and how to choose a childbirth education class based on size and duration.
Cara Terreri is the site administrator for Giving Birth with Confidence, the Lamaze online community for expectant moms, and has worked with Lamaze for the last six years. Giving Birth with Confidence is written for and by real women (and men) and offers a meeting ground to share stories, find answers and provide support during pregnancy, birth, breastfeeding and parenting. In her free time (every last bit), she is mom to two active little boys. Through blogging and advocacy, Cara enjoys helping women discover their power and ability in birth.
How did taking a childbirth education class enhance or improve your birth experience?
Mother's Advocate Blog 
[…] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Smooth Transitions, Mother's Advocate. Mother's Advocate said: Mother's Advocate guest blogger, Cara Terreri, shares her top 5 tips for choosing a childbirth education class: http://ht.ly/3gWAP […]
The article provided very helpful info, however the point about certification can be misleading. Both Birthing from Within and Lamaze require an educator to teach classes before becoming certified. With Birthing from Within, the educator is teaching for a very long time before certification because they don’t believe in just ‘handing out” certifications like some programs do. With Lamaze, it can be a 6 months to a year since they only run the exam every 6 months. It is more than likely that out of 2 teachers, 1 being certified online or through a program that provides certifications rather easily, and another that is more rigorous with their certifications, that the un-certified professional may indeed be more experienced and knowledgeable than the certified professional. It would be wise to find out a little about the programs themselves to determine which philosophy resonates with the parents-to-be.
[…] with Confidence is featured today over at the Mother’s Advocate blog in a post called, “Choosing the Right Childbirth Education Class.” Here’s a snippet: “Lamaze, Bradley, Hypnobabies, Birthing from Within — the […]
Choosing the right childbirth class is definitely not easy but the effort will pay off. Many people who choose to become Lamaze certified do so after years of teaching experience while others are relatively new to the field. The Lamaze exam is put together by a group of very experienced Lamaze instructors who work closely with a test construction specialist to be sure that the test measures basic competency in overall knowledge related to pregnancy, birth, and early parenting. In addition, instructors who satisfactorily pass the exam have demonstrated knowledge of teaching techniques and can apply them to situations that commonly occur during classes. They demonstrate that they can help women negotiate with their providers and hospitals by correctly answering many questions related to advocacy. While not the only thing to consider, a Lamaze Certified Childbirth Educator (LCCE) has demonstrated a basic competency in the field. Prospective students can certainly ask about actual teaching experience before registering. Since the most effective advertising is word of mouth, ask friends, family, even strangers about their childbirth class experiences – What was good or bad and why? I can only address the Lamaze Certified Childbirth Education process because I have been certified since 1982 and have watched the organization mature into the best source of information available for women, providers, and educators. Oh, and by way of full disclosure – I am the current President, a title I wear with pride. Look to Lamaze International for the information you need to have a healthy pregnancy and birth.
After over10 years of childbirth teaching classes and attending births I figured out what works best for woman in labor and their partners. I designed my classes to increase knowledge and to decrease fears . To understand what is normal for labor.I want my students to be informed of their choices so they can make the best decisions for their own personal birth. Lastly to trust the process of nature. When that is given then a woman can relax with her labor using a variety of relaxation techniques that are natural non-scripted ,and do not cause hyperventilation , her partner will be better able to support her having the knowledge that what is happening is normal for labor.
My goal is that you have a Positiver birth experience and are able to look back on that day with smiles and joy
dee*
Small Wonders Childbirth Education DVD
[…] of pregnancy: Before signing up for a childbirth education class, spend some time thinking about what type of class would suit you best, based on the type of childbirth experience you hope to have. There are many types of childbirth education programs out there, such as Lamaze, Bradley, Birthing […]
Indeed, choosing the right childbirth class is surprisingly challenging for my wife and I. I’m glad that I was able to find Birth for Men. The educator is Bradley certified and it resonated with my belief that indeed, men have a protected role over their wives. This includes labor and childbirth. I’m really grateful for the evidenced-based information that I learned. Knowing about cord clamping and how to go about cutting it is such a novel experience. What didn’t prepared me was the act of catching the baby. I mean I know how to catch. I didn’t know that it was inexplicably beautiful.